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PATENTED AUG. 11, 19Q3.

E. A. JOHNSTON.

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APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 20, 1901.

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No. 735,983. PATENTEDAUG. 11, 1903.

E. A. JOHNSTON. HEADER.

APPLICATION nun arm. 20, 1901. no MODEL. e SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903.

B. A. JOHNSTON.

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APPLICATION I'ILED SEPT. 20, 1901.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

No. 735,983. PATENTED AUG.11,1903.

E. A. JOHNSTON.

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APPLIOATIOK TILED SEPT. 20, 1901.

1T0 IODEL. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

No. 735,983. PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903.

B. A. JOHNSTON.

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APPLICATION FILED arm. 20. 1901.

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" lnn m PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903.

E. A. JOHNSTON.

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APPLIGATLON FILED 51m. 20. 1901.

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UNITED" STATES Patented August 11, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD A. JOHNSTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MCCORMICKHARVESTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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SBEGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 735,983, dated August11, 1903.

Application filed Septemher20,1901. smart. 75,683. Nomodel To aZZ whomit may concern.-

Be it known thatI, EDWARD A. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Headers; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates more particularly to a type of machine known asheaders, where the cutting apparatus is set high up above the ground, soas to sever the straws only a short distance below the heads, and themachine is pushed forward through the standing grain by the team beinghitched to a tongue projecting rearward from the axle of the wheels onwhich the machine is supported.

The invention consists in particular improvements in various parts ofthe machine, the object aimed at being to'lighten the weight of thestructure without impairing its rigidity and strength and generally toimprove the construction, so as to enhance the ease and efficiency ofoperation, as well as t-o'produce a machine of comparatively light draftand that may be easily handled and adjusted by the driver.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigurevl is a plan View of the entire machine except parts of the tongueand elevator.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation taken from the stubble end of the platform.Fig. 3 is a similar view from the grain-wheel side. Fig. 4 is a verticlefore-and-aft section on the line 4 4, Fig. 1, looking in the directionof the arrow. Fig. 5 is a similar section on the line 5 5, Fig. 1,looking in the opposite direction. Fig. 6 is a detail of the gearing fordriving the elevator-aprons. Fig. 7 is asectional detail of thetightener for the reel-chain, taken on the line '7 7, Fig. 2. Figs. 8and 9 are plan and side views of the elevator;'and Fig. 10 is across-section of the same on the line 10 10,

' Fig. 8, looking in the direct-i011 of the arrow.

wheels; and Fig. 12 is a similar detail of the take-up arm for the maindrive-chain.

The general organization of the manhine is similar to many that are nowwell known, and no more particular description of the machine willtherefore be required than is necessary to set out the construction andoperation of the parts to which the invention more especially relates.

The supportingwheels a a are mounted at opposite extremities of atubular through-axle I), having solid ends Where the Wheels arejournaled, as indicated at b in Figs. 3 and 5. Of these wheels at is thedrive-wheel and a the grain-wheel. The former is inclosed in arectangular frame consisting of fore-and-aft side bars 00, that areconnected'together by a crossbar c at the rear, making a sort of. Ushaped frame,that is closed at the rear and open at the front. Boththese side bars are rigidly connected to the axle by brackets c c orotherwise. The outer one, 0, does not extend forward beyond the axle;but the inner one, o, is continued under and in-front of the axle, asindicated in Figs. 1 and 5, and is braced by struts c c to the top ofthe axle. The grain-wheel has no inclosing frame; but on its inner sidethere isrigidly secured to. and underlying the axle a bar (1, whichextends from a point in rear of the axle to a point in front of the sameon a line with the front end of the inner side bar 0 of the drivewheelframe. From these two bars 0 d the entire framework. of the harvester issupported through the intermediacy of supporting-bars e e, that arebolted to the bars 0 cl, respectively, at e and e and extend downwardslightly, so as to bring the platform a little below the level of theaxle and then extend forward horizontally under the platform, as shownin full lines at e e, Figs. 2 and 3, and in dotted'lines in Fig. 1. Atthe front ends of the bars '0 d down-hangers f f are provided to supportthe bars do at points intermediate oftheir length, andthese hangersareadvisedl y'provided with holes f to permit of "the vertical adjustmentof the bars that support the platform, so as to set the'latter higher orlower with respect to the bars 0 d? The framework of the machine beingsupported as above described, it will be understood that in order totilt the machine the axle must be rocked in the hubs of the supporting-wheels. To permit this, the tongue is connected to the axle in apeculiar manner, which will now he described.

As illustrated in the drawings, especially in Fig. 11, this tongue is astout metal tube g. It is supported at its rear end on the truck of asteering-caster a and at its forward end is rigidly secured to asocket-castin g g, which is sleeved upon and around the axle near thedrive-wheel, so that the axle may have a limited rocking movement in thesocket. At a point near the grain-wheel there is a socketcasting gsimilar in all respects to the one just described, and rearward fromthis casting 9 a tubular tongue-brace g extends diagonally an d isunited to the tongue at a point sufiiciently in rear of the machine toinsure the requisite "bracing effect. The socketcastings g g are shortsections of tubing that are large enough to turn freely on the axle, andthey are provided with slots g g, extending diametrically through them,into which slots pass through-bolts g 9, that go clear through the axleand hold the sockets against longitudinal movement thereon. 3y means ofthese sleeve-like sockets the tongue and its brace are securelyconnected at their front ends to the axle, so as to permit the ma chineto be easily driven and guided, and so, also, as to allow the same to betilted for the purpose of altering the height of cut.

The platform and elevator are of course very heavy, and it is desirableto provide means to assist the driver in tilting them. I therefore bolta gooseneclc or standard 77110 the axle by means of forwardly-extendingclips h 7L2, that are rigidly secured, respectively, to the upper andlower sides of the axle by the througlrbolt 9 which holds thesleevecasting g against lateral movement. This standard projectsslightly forward and extends sufliciently above the axle to secure thenecessary leverage thereon, and to its upper end is secured a stoutspring 71 that extends downwardly and back along the tongue to a pointabout where the diagonal brace g joins it, where it is adjustably madefast in any suitable manner. The tension of this spring constantlypulling between the upper end of the standard h and the tonguecounterbalances the weight of the main frame and other parts in front ofthe axle and greatly assists the driver in raising and loweringthecutters. As there is considerable strain on the standard h, I braceit laterally by braces Z) If.

The driver stands or rides on a platform i at the rear end of the tongueand controls the machine by means of a long tubular handlever 1 which isrigidly connected at its forward end to a j oint-casting 2' that isbolted to the axle by the through-bolt so that as the lever is raisedand lowered by the driver the axle is rocked in the hubs of the wheels.At

its rear end the hand-lever is provided with a thumb-latchi' that isadapted to take into notches on a locking-bar 2', so that the lever maybe set at any desired adjustment. The forward end of .the hand-lever isalso connected to the rear end of the U-shaped frame that surrounds themain drive'wheel in order to secure the necessary leverage on theplatform-frame and the parts to be tilted. This connection is preferablymade by a standard or brace 70, that is bolted to the cross-bar c of thedrive-wheel frame and extends upwardly, as best shown in Fig. 5. Thehand-lever passes through this standard about midway of its length, andfor the purpose of bracing the lever, and thereby allowing the use of asmaller lighter tube, I provide struts or straining-rods 7a 7.3 whichextend along the lever on its upper and lower sides from thejoint-casting at its front end to the extreme rear end, passing throughholes in the upper and lower ends of the standard 70, so as to spraddlethe rods apart sufficiently to give the lever the necessary rigidity.

The construction of the grain-platform of itself forms no part of thepresent invention; but the manner of bracing it is believed to be novel.Rising from the rear corners of this platform are posts or lightstandards Z Z, the former being at the elevator end of the platform andthe latter at the grain end. These posts or standards are braced bymeans of up wardly and forwardly extending braces Z" Z, the latterrising diagonally from an arm Z, projecting rearward from the grain endof the main axle. The brace Z is bolted at its lower end to thestubbleward side bar 0 of the drivewheel frame, and at a point on theopposite side bar of the same frame, in line with the points ofconnection of the other braces, is a third diagonal brace Z that extendshorizontally grainward and is connected to the platform-frame aboutmidway of its length. The brace Z carries at its upper end the sheave orroller 171, over which runs the rope m, that supports and adjusts theelevator. It is to be noted of this construction that the points ofconnection of the braces, and particularly the one that braces theelevator, are all in line with the points e e of connection of the barsthat support the platform. This allows the whole machine to be tiltedwithout twisting or straining any of the parts and without throwing theelevator out of line. It also dispenses with the necessity ofadjustments for the purpose of lining up the braces and other parts.

The reel is supported by arms m m that are pivoted to the posts Z Z,respectively, and are upheld at their outer ends by struts or braces mm, the latter rising from the rear outer corner of the grain-platformand the former extending downward from the point where the brace Z joinsthe post Z. The arm 012 which carries the inner end of the reel, ispivoted to the post Z at the point a: and carries in rear of this point,and of course eccentric thereto, an idler a, over which runs the IIOchain it, by means of which the reel is driven. The arm m is alsoextended rearward from this point and made fast to the diagonal brace ZIt will be understood that all these arms and braces that uphold andsupport the reel are adjustable for the purpose of raising and loweringthe reel and also to compensate for sagging. These adjustments requirecorresponding variations in the length of the reel-drive chain, and itis well understood that the tilting of the frame necessitates someprovision for keeping the chain taut as the relation of the partschanges. The reel-chain n is driven by a sprocket on the stubbleward endof the hub of the drive-wheel. On its way to the sprocket on thereel-shaft n it passes over a tightener of novel construction,consisting of a pair of idle pulleys 77. 12 j ournaled at opposite endsof an arm 0, that is pivoted midway of its length in a bearing-box 0,that is bolted to the brace Z as best shown in Figs. 2 and 7. The arm 0has a stud or pin 0 projecting from its hub,-which passes into the box,and a spring 0 is coiled around the pin and is connected at one end tothe box and at the other to the hub of the arm carrying the idlers. Thespring reacting between the arm and its bearing tends constantly to takeup slack in the chain a.

The construction of the elevator forms one of the features of myinvention. As shown in Figs. 8 to 10, the sides are made of thinsheet-steel 12, having flanged or turned-over edges 19. At opposite endsthere are castings 19 in which are the bearings for theelevator-rollers. Midway of its length the elevator sides arestrengthened by straps p and a brace 19 extends over at this point tokeep the sides from spreading. At the foot of the elevator there is asimilar cross-piece p and at the upper end there is a board 1)", whichties the bearings for the rollers together at this point. Extendingdiagonally to the four corners of the elevator from the cross-piece pare four braces or tie-rods q, that are adjustable for the purpose ofsquar ing up the sides and ends of the structure.

Referringnow to Fig. 6, 1' denotes a sprocketwheel on the rear end ofthe platform-roller at the elevator side of the machine, and r is asimilar sprocket on the rear end of the lowermost roller of the elevatorthatis connected to the sprocket 1' by means of a chain r I11- side ofthe sprocket 4" there is another similar sprocket r on the shaft of theelevatorroller, and from this sprocket the roller 1- of the upper canvasof the elevator is driven. It is necessary, however, to change themotion of these rollers, and in order to effect this I interpose anintermediate sprockets, that has on its inner side a spur-gear s, whichmeshes with the gear 8 on the roller-shaft r". The sprocket s is drivenby a chaint from the sprocket r on the lowermost roller of the elevatorand is journaled on a stud t, which projects from a plate or casting F,that is pivoted on the axis of the roller 0'. The chain may therefore betightened when desired byadjusting the plate '6 and sprocket 5- aroundthe rollcr r, the adjustment being made by turning the plate so as tochange the boltholes t to other positions where they may have bolts orscrews passed through'them and into new holes or places in the sides 19of the elevator.

The powerto drive all the operative parts of the machine is taken, asusual, from the drivewheel. In Figs. 1 and 2, u denotes a bevelgear onthe counter-shaft, and u a miterpinion engaging therewith. This pinionis on the rear end of a short shaft journaled in a box 16 that issecured to the outer bar 0 of the drive-wheel frame with a slightinclination stubblew'ard. A tumblingshaft i; is connected at its rearend to this short shaft, and its forward end connects to the shaft ofthe roller r of the elevator, the elevator, therefore, being drivenentirely and solely by this single shaft. At its forward end the shaftof the roller 0' is provided with a crank o,and the pitman which drivesthe cutter is connected to this crank. Thus the cutter-bar and thecanvas are driven from the lower roller of the elevator, and all thepower is transmitted from the counter shaft by a sin-'- gletumbling-shaft.

The counter-shaft itself is driven from the main wheel by means of thechain w, as usual. I provide a ti ghtener for the under ply of thischain, consisting of an idle sprocket 20, mounted on a stud in the endof an arm 3 This arm is pivoted to the inner side bar 0 of thedrive-wheel frame and is cored out or otherwise provided with anopen-ended recess y, in which is housed a coiled spring g The arm y ispivoted near a lug z on the side bar 0, and a teat on the lug enters theopen end of the spring, as shown in Fig. 12, and keeps the sprocket wconstantly pressed upward against the chain w, thereby keeping it taut.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combinationof the supportingwheels, the axle, the steering-wheel, the main framesecured to the axle, the tongue having a pivotal connection with theaxle at its front end and supported at its rear end by the steer.-ing-wheel, and a tilting-lever rigidly connected to the axle andextending rearward along the tongue, whereby the frame may be tilted byrocking the axle in the supportingwheels.

2. The combination of the supporting wheels, the axle, thesteering-wheel, the main frame secured to the axle, the tongue having apivotal connection with the axle at its front end, and supported at itsrear end by the steering-wheel, a tilting-lever rigidly connected to theaxle and extending rearward along the tongue, and a spring forcounterbalancing the weight of the main frame.

3. The combination of the supporting.

wheels, the axle, the steering-wheel, the main frame secured to theaxle, the tongue having apivotalconnection with the axle at its frontend, and supported at its rear end by the steering-wheel, a braceext-ending forward and outward from the tongue and also having a pivotalconnection with the axle, and a tilting-lever rigidly connected to theaxle on the opposite side of the tongue from the brace and extendingrearward along the tongue.

at. The combination of the supporting- Wheels, the axle, free to rocktherein, brackets c c rigidly secured to the axle, fore and aft bars 0,d, secured to the brackets and extending in front and rear of the axleon the under side, frame-supporting bars secured at their rear ends tothe fore and aft bars behind the axle, and extending forward under thesupporting and main frame, and struts c, 0, connecting the fore and aftbars to the brackets above the axle.

5. The combination of the supportingwheels, the axle free to rocktherein, fore and aft bars c, d, rigidly secured to the axle andextending in front and rear thereof, framesupporting bars e, e, securedto the fore and aft bars behind the axle and extending forward of thesame under the main frame, and hangers connecting the bars 6, c with thefore and aft bars in front of the axle, said hangers being adjustable tovary the tilt of the framesupporting bars.

6. The combination of the supportingwheels, the axle free to rocktherein, fore and aft bars 0, cl, rigidly secured to the axle andextending in front and rear thereof, framesupporting bars 0, e, securedto the fore and aft bars in front and rear of the axle, the main frame,the bar 0 on the outer side of the drivewheel, the arm l on the axleoutside the grainwheel, and the braces Z Z", extending upwardly fro mthe bar 0 and arm 1*, respectively, to the upper part of the main frame.

7. The combination of the supportingwheels, the axle free to rocktherein, the drivewheel frame consisting of the bars 6, 0, 0 the tonguepivotally connected to the axle, the tilting-lever, and the standard Itrising from the rear end of the drive-wheel frame and connected to thelever, said tilting-lever being rigidly connected to the axle at itsfront end and extending rearward along the tongue.

' the lever passes, and tie-rods 7c, k connected to the lever nearopposite ends and passing through the standard above and below thelever.

9. The combination of the supportingwheels, the axle free to rocktherein,the sleevelike coupling g encircling the axle and having theslots 9, the bolt g passing through the coupling and axle, and thetongue rigidly secured to the coupling.

10. The combination of the supporting- Wheels,the axle free to rockthereimthe tongue pivotally connected to the axle, the horizontal arms72 7L2, bolted to the axle,.the standard 71 secured to the arms andextending above the axle, and the spring h connected to the upper end ofthe standard and to a point on the tongue in rear of the axle.

11. The combination of the lower roller of the elevator, thecorresponding roller of the upper elevator-canvas, the sprocket-Wheel onthe former, a gear-wheel on the latter, an adjustable-plate carrying astud, a gear journaled on the studintermediate of the sprocketwheel androller-gear and meshing with said roller-gear, and a chain for drivingthe intermediate gear from the lower roller of the ele- Vator.

12. The combination of the inner rollers of the lower elevator andplatform canvases, of the sprocket-wheels r, 1"7 the chain 0' around theWheels r, r, the gear 5 on the inner roller of the upperelevator-canvas, the gear 8 meshing with the gear 3 the adjustable plate25 on which the gear .9 is journaled, the sprocket-wheel s, rigidlyconnected with the gear 3, and the chain 15 around the sprocketwheels 1s.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EDWARD A. JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

WM. H. FERGUSON, CHAS. W. ALLEN.

